15-11-2007

Thermocovering is the technology used to produce some highly visible parts of the latest Mini cars. The process produces parts that have both aesthetic and structural properties: the mechanical ones are given by a support (“substrate”, a part made by injection moulding), the aesthetics are given by a thermoplastic skin formed and bonded on top of the substrate. The process foresees a cycle that is pretty much similar to conventional thermoforming, the only difference is that the substrate is sprayed with thermal activated glue and loaded in a dedicated recess on the mould; after heating a skin, the thermoforming machine moulds it against the substrate, which bonds against the skin. The skin can be soft PVC on a layer of foamed PVC.

• Reel stand with 6 positions. The production required a quick skin change according to the just-in-time production schedule. The colour of the skin is automatically detected and the right part program is recalled
• A gripping system to pull the skin across the forming station with dedicated solution for minimal scrap, as the high-quality material used is quite expensive
• Special care have been considered to reduce contamination from dust from the machine
• A shuttle system on top of the machine allowed to use a plug tool to assist forming and trim the parts after forming
• Ergonomic factors have been followed to facilitate the manual operations (unloading of the parts and loading of the substrates)
• Automatic scrap unload after trimming in a separate bin
• Closed loop heating control system